Oil-well-tubing clamp



(No Model.)v 2 Sheets-'Shet 1.

D. L. LEWIS. Y rOIL WELL TUBING CLAMP.

(No Model.) Z'Sheets-Sheet 2. D. L. LEWs.

l OIL WELL TUBING GLAMP. l No. 277,142. Patented May `8, 18831.

the hinge and the locking-key. Fig.r5 is a' vertical section on the line :c in Fig. 2. Fig. 6 isa like view on the line y yin Fig. 2. Fig.

UNITED STATES DANIEIJ L. LEWIS, i

OF BRADFORD, PENNSYLVANIA.

PATENT OFFICE.

oit-WELL-TUBING CLAMP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 277,142, dated May 8, 1883.

Application led August 21, 1882. (No modelJ .To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DANIEL L. LEWIS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bradford, in the county of McKean andState of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oil- Well- Tubing Clamps; and I do hereby declareV the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the artto which it appertains, to make and use the same.

This invention relates to tubing-clamps and elevators which are used for lowering the'tubing of an oilwell into the well and withdrawing the same therefrom.

The object, purpose,- and scope of the invention will appear from the following description and claims. y

My device is illustrated in the accompanying drawings as follows: y

Figure l is a perspective view, showing the clamp closed.

removed, so as to show cavities into which the key ts. Fig. 3 shows the clamp wide open, and is an elevation of its inner faces. Fig. et is a vertical section on the line a z in Fig. 1, a section of tubing being shown in elevation, the only parts cut by the line of section being 7 is a perspective view of the locking-keydetached from the clamp.

The' invention relates to the devices for lock- A ing the parts of the clamp together when in place around the tubing, and to the form of the opening in which the tubing is held.- As the oiice and purpose of a tubingclamp and elevator are well known, I need not here refer to them.

The two parts ot' the clamp are generally held together, when the clamp is in position upon the tubing, by so placing the suspendinglinks that when they are in position for suspending one ot' them will embrace the two handies, and thus hold the clamp together. An-v other method is to have a separate latch-link which will turn up and embrace the two handles. There have been various other devices made for holding the two parts of the clamp Fig. 2 is a top ory plan view ot"l the clamp closed, but with the locking-key.v

together. In fact, the means for so doing constitute the gist of most of the various patented devices.

The essential requisite ot'a clamp is that the y means for fastening the two parts together when it is in position on the tubing shall be capable ot' easy manipulation, and shall hold the parts together surely, and thus make the clamp both easy to apply and disconnect, and be perfectly safe while applied.

A A2 are the two parts of the clamp. They' are provided with handles a a?.

B is the locking-key, and is provided with a handle, B'. The form of this key is shownrin Fig. 7. i which, b', goes the wholelength,while the other, b2, only goes about half the length. On the back the key is somewhat wedge-shaped. v

The two parts ot' the clamp near the handle s are each provided with' L-shaped grooves, which form the key-socket. The top face ot' the parts A A? lare also cut away somewhat about the mouth of theV key-socket, so as to allow the key-head to drop down about Hush with the upper surface of the clamp. The form of the key-socket, as made by the `two L-sha-ped grooves, is clearly shown in Fig. 2, and it will be seen, by observing Fig. 7, that the key there shopfn will t into the socket and that when itl in place the jaws of the clamp cannot be opened. It will be obvious to any one that the precise form ot' the key and socket shown may be greatly varied and yet obtain a form which will serve equally well to lock thetwo parts or jaws together when the key is in place. It is desirable that this key be so constructed that it need not entirely leave the socket in one of the jaws, but that it be so constructed as to always beinposition for immediate use. To this end I have made the lip b2 shorter than the lip b. Hence when the key is lifted up in the socket high enough to bring the bottom of the lip b2 above the top of' the clamp the jaws can swing open. To prevent the key from being drawn out farther than is necessary to allow the jaws to open, I put on the outside of the lip b apin, c, and the groove g is provided with a groove, e, running part way to the top. This prevents the key from being pulled out. The pin chas to be put in place, after the key is in the socket,

It has on each side a lip, b b2, one of` 2 v i l 277,142

by passing it through the hole f. (For this latter construction see Fig. 5.) When the ele' vator is' in use the key should be so held in place that it cannot jump out or be knocked out accidentally. When in uselifting or holding a vertical line of tubing the collaror thimble on the tubing rests ou the top of thejaws, (see Fig. 4,) and when' in this position the said collar comes in contact with a beveled face, n, on-the key-head. The opposite side of the key-head has a bevel, b, and the top ot' the grooves r/ g are made with an overhanging ledge, a, and the pressure ot' the collar on the tubing on the beveled face n drives the bevel b back under the ledge a, and makes it impossible for the key to esca-pe or be taken fromits socket until the clampis relieved ofthe weight ot' the tubing.

In the operation ot' drawing orlowering tubing it often happens that it is most convenient Ato put the clamponto the tubing some distance below the collar N. In that case the links, the hook on the tackle-block, and the tackle-block have to lie on one side of the tub-v ing, and when they begin to draw up the draft is sidewise slightly on account of their position, and this tends to bind the clamp upon the tubing and not permit it to slip up freely to f the collar, where it must restbet'ore it is safe to lift the tubing. In order to avoid this binding, I make the opening D in the clamp tapering, as shown in the drawings, and this perkey when drawn up, as is shownby dott-ed lines in Fig. 3, that the key, when drawn, moves away from the tubing. The object ot' this is to allow7 the key to be drawn as soon as the collar N on the tubing is slightly off of it, and not have to wait until the clamp is as far below the collar as the key moves upward. vIn otherword's, the key gets back out of the wayv ot' the collar when moved upward slightly.

rEhe form and construction as shown inthe drawings I consider preferable; but I do not wish to be limited to it, as it is susceptible ot many variations. As has been already pointed out, the form of the key and the key-socket may be varied. \In place of grooves on the inside faces to form a key-socket, the two jaws may be ledged at that point, so as to'lap over each other, and with a key-opening in each ledge and a simple pin for a key, passing first through the ledgeof one jaw and then that of the other, in a. manner not unlike the pintle at the hinge'. Such a construction, with proper meansfor keeping the pin from falling out,

would serve in a manner substantially the same as the construction shown.

What I claim as new is- 1. In an oil-well-tubing clamp, the combination, with the two parts or jaws forming the clamp-body, of a vertically-acting pin or key lcarried by one of the jaws and engaging within a key-socket formed partly in one and partly in thevother jaw, substantially as shown and described. l

kL). In an oil-well-tubing clamp, the combination, with the two parts or jaws forming the clamp-body, ot' a vertically-acting pin or key carried by one ot' said parts and engaging within a key-socket formed partly in each ot' said parts and so inclined to a vertical line that'the pin or key as it moves up will recede from the tubing held by the clamp, substantially as shown and described.

3. [nan oilwell-tubing clamp, the combination, with the two parts or jaws forming the clamp, of a vertically-acting key, B, having lips or flanges b b2, carried by one of said parts and engaging within right-angled or L shaped recesses g g on the inner faces of each of said parts, substantially as and for the purposes mentioned.4 i

4. In an oil-well-tubing clamp, the combination, with the two parts or jaws forming the clamp, ofa' vertically-acting key, which engages within a key-socket formed partly in one and partly in the other o'f said jaws, and provided with a head which, when the key is in place, will approach so near the well-rubin g as to be impinged upon' by the collar on said tubing, substantially as and for the purposes setV forth.

5. In an oil-well-tubing clamp, the combinaand having a' head beveled on opposite sides,

as shown at u and b, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

G. In an oil-well-tubing clamp, the combination, with the two 'parts or'jaws forming the clamp, ofthe recesses g gl and e, the key B, with lips o r wings b b2, and the pin'or lug c, substantially as shown.

7. In an oil-well-tubing clamp, the surfaces ofthe jaws which come against the tubing made inclined, so that the opening formed by said surfaces shall be tapering, as and for'the purposes set forth.

In testimony whereof I allix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DANIEL L. LEWIS.

Witnesses:

JNO'. K. HALLocK, Y' W'. S. BROWN.

IIO 

